Irrigation project launched in Cameroon

5 March last saw the launch of a water construction project on 1200 hectares of agricultural land in the Department of Noun in Cameroon.

The project, which will amount to a value of 9.2 million Dollars, consists of the construction of canals, dykes, and dams, as reported in the daily Le Messager. It also includes the upgrading of 85 km of roadways to facilitate transport for the project.

“The project will allow for permanent and more profitable production from the areas being serviced”, explained the project co-ordinator Amadou Potouogbounkuou.

Such irrigation projects are essential in developing agricultural land in Africa and combating malnutrition.

In Senegal, for example, the potential for putting rainwater to use for agricultural purposes is enormous, as Oumar Bâ, technical advisor at the Ministry of the Environment pointed out on Thursday in Dakar, speaking to the Senegal Press Agency. “Even so, less than 4 percent of the land is irrigated”, he said.